A network computing environment, which in some configurations may sometimes be referred to as a cloud computing environment, enables a plurality of different computer resources to interact cooperatively, abstracted (in some examples into a cloud layer) so that disparate devices appear to an end-user as a single pool of seamless resources. Examples of computer resources amenable to network computing or cloud environments include physical programmable devices (for example, servers, clients, etc.), storage and other memory devices, and logical computing applications and engines (for example, business and other software applications).
The Internet (or internet) is a global system of different, interconnected computer networks that use a standard Internet protocol suite (Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/Internet Protocol (IP)) to communicate. The Internet carries an extensive range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW), and a presence or participation of a given network within the internet is sometimes referred to as an “online” presence.
“Social networks” and “social networking services” generally refer to online network services, platforms, or sites that focus on serving or facilitating the building of social networks or social relations among people who shared some common attribute or interest, for example activities, professional backgrounds, families, schools or other real-life connections. Participants in a given social network generally provide personal data that they agree to share with other members of the social network, but not necessarily with other online participants not within the social network.
Electronic commerce web sites and platforms enable the exchange of goods and services via the internet or other computer networks, in some examples providing a direct connection between retailers and consumers. Consumers must generally provide to a web retailer criteria for selection of a good or service, financial account data (for example, credit card numbers, checking or debit account or other payment network account numbers), and personal identification indicia in order to successfully execute an online transaction.